Freespace 2: The Reunification
by Cpt. Ritter
Summary: Sequel to FS2: Devastation. The Knossos portal in Delta Serpentis is the largest construction project in the galaxy, but there are factions that never wish to see Earth reunited and even more who have an even darker secret.
1. Assasination Attempt

Freespace 2: The Reunification

Squadron Members (77th Swords)

Commander Amy Junique (Alpha 1)

Captain Louis Alba (Alpha 2)

Captain Jack Johnston (Alpha 3)

Captain Sydney Burkman (Alpha 4)

Captain Kira Hanson (Beta 1)

Lieutenant Emily Hanestock (Beta 2)

Lieutenant Kyle Mitchell (Beta 3)

Lieutenant Mike Cunningham (Beta 4)

Captain Hans Ferganan (Gamma 1)

Lieutenant Kayle Yersban (Gamma 2)

Lieutenant Marissa Gilbertson (Gamma 3)

Ensign Ben Able (Gamma 4)

Others

Chris Manstein (Former Commander of 77th Swords)

Anya Manstein (Formerly Anya Mitchell, Former member of 77th Swords)

Gordon Zimmerman (Former member of 77th Swords)

Franz Albertz (Former member of 77th Swords)

Nick Hothsteen (Former member of 77th Swords)

Ptah Commodore RaNah (Commander of 312th Vasudan Tactical Wing, Former member of 77th Swords)

Admiral Sean Loyde (Commander of GTD Fire Dawn)

Admiral Kristine Loyde (Commander of GTD Fire Dance)

Admiral Richard Yaleson (Commander of GTD Fire Dusk)

Time: 0630 Hours, Galactic Standard Time

Place: Home of Chris and Anya Manstein, Delta Serpentis IV

Location: Near Knossos Subspace Gate Construction Site

The system of Delta Serpentis was a group of five planets, the third and fourth being habitable and the other three being mining planets. They orbited around a single green hued star. Delta Serpentis was the secondary headquarters for the GTVSA, the Galactic Terran Vasudan Shivan Alliance. A pair of shipyards and the Knossos subspace portal construction site were the only objects of significance.

Chris Manstein lived on Delta Serpentis IV, with his wife Anya, in his parents old home. His parents had died during the Capella crisis. The home was a two story house with two landing pads on the flat roof, and two more down in the courtyard. The house was outside the city of New London, a sprawling metropolis that was the largest city in the system.

Two aging Ulysses fighters rested on the roof landing pad. They both had the squadron logo of the 77th Swords, and they both had kill markings painted on their wings. A landspeeder and two airspeeders rested on one of the landing pads in the courtyard. The other landing pad was empty.

The house was metal plated, in the characteristic style that had come about as the Galactic age had begun. The windows were reinforced transparisteel. It was a sturdy material that didn't require cleaning or maintenance.

Chris looked out into the courtyard from the living room of his house. The interior of the living room was carpeted with a deep blue color. The walls were obscured by various portraits. Most of the portraits were artistic depictions of GTVA ships, though several of them were of Chris's parents and himself.

The portrait that stood out the most was Chris's first time near a GTVA fighter. It had been a warm sunny day. Chris's parents had took him on his sixteenth birthday to see the GTVA parade. Chris had even gotten to climb into the cockpit of an ancient Apollo fighter. The portrait was of Chris in the cockpit of that legendary fighter.

He sipped his cup of hot tea. The sun had barely risen, and a thick blanket of dew hung in the trees that surrounded the home. He turned as he heard Anya's quiet footsteps, walking barefoot on the rug. Anya was wearing a set of flannel pajamas, her hair hung loose, just about shoulder length.

"What's on the agenda for today?" She asked.

"Not much." Chris replied. "Amy and Louis should be coming down from the Fire Dawn for dinner."  
"Still homesick for the Swords?"

Chris inwardly smiled, Anya could always tell what was on his mind. "Yeah."

"Anyway, let's have breakfast."

Chris was about to follow her into the kitchen, but turned around one more time. He spotted an airspeeder land in the courtyard. He glanced out the window. Two occupants got out, a tall man and a tall woman. Both were wearing large overcoats. "Anya." He yelled into the kitchen. "Come here."

Anya came back into the living room. "What's up?"  
"Do you recognize those two people in the airspeeder?"

Anya looked carefully for a second. "They're my parents." She finished her sentence with sigh. "We'd better go meet them."

Anya led Chris to the entryway just as the guest alarm buzzed loudly. Anya opened the door. Standing there were the two people from the airspeeder. The tall man had short black hair and a commanding build. The woman, equally as tall, had short brown hair and seemed almost frail in comparison.

Anya regarded them both cynically. "Mom, Dad." She glared at them each in turn.

"Come home Anya." The woman said. "You no longer have a commitment to that accursed organization."

"No Mom." Anya's voice was cold. "You abandoned me because of my decision. I don't need your help."

"Why are you living with this man?" The man said accusingly.

"What do you think? He's my husband."

"You married this... space cowboy." The woman's tone was now accusing.

"In case you haven't notice, I'm a space cowgirl."

A Perseus fighter choose that moment to race over the house, landing on the empty landing pad. The hatch opened and almost a male version of Anya stepped out. He was Kyle Mitchell, Anya's younger brother. He sprinted across the courtyard. "Sorry I missed the family reunion." He said.

"If you can call it a reunion." Anya remarked.

"Yeah, had an Aketon SDG ready and everything. I was going to disable the transport, but Amy wouldn't let me. Neither would my wingman... stupid reg nut."

"How dare you young man!" The woman was yelling.

"I was trying to spare my sister the embarrassment of having her parents try to come collect her from her home."

"This is not her home."

"That's where you're wrong Mom." Anya replied quietly. "THIS is my home." She emphasized the word 'this'.

"You're not our daughter anymore." The man said.

"Then I'm glad I'm not stuck with you're name." Anya spat the words. "Get out of my home." Anya turned and stormed off.

"Want to come in Kyle?" Chris asked.

"Sure." Kyle replied. "Nice going." He mocked his parents.

"I'm sorry your stay couldn't be longer. Maybe you should come back when both you, and Anya, are willing to listen to each other." Chris closed his door, not waiting to see if Anya's parents had left yet.

He walked into the kitchen. Anya was leaning heavily against the sink. He put his arm around her shoulder. "I'm sorry that couldn't have gone better."

Anya stifled a tear. "I hoped they had finally come to reconcile their differences with me. I thought I could actually love my parents again."

"I..." Chris stumbled for the right words.

"It's okay." She leaned into his chest. "I know you don't have a clue what to say right now."

"You're always right, has to do with that feminineness."

Anya smiled weakly. "Yeah."

"You know." Kyle began. "I'm glad my sister met you Chris. Still disappointed you both left the Swords before I graduated but... it's turned out for the best." Kyle sat down on a stool next to the butcher block.

"Want anything to drink Kyle?" Chris asked.

"Nah. Can't fly with that stuff in your system. Amy would kill me."

"Not even some water?"

"Alright, that'd be great."

Chris filled a cup with water, then handed it to Kyle. "How are the Swords doing?"  
"Awe.. we're great. Our latest addition, Ensign Ben Able. He's fresh out of the GTVSA academy."

"Uh-oh." Anya commented.

"Anyway, he's the most tight-assed pilot we have. Louis has had a field day."

"I don't doubt it." Chris replied.

"Knossos guard duty is boring stuff."

"So was our post at Alpha Centauri." Anya replied. "It turned into a war zone really quick."

"Yeah, but this is so close to Earth. Alpha Centauri was much farther out there. There are no hidden jump nodes and the Shivans are our allies."

"That doesn't mean it's over Kyle." Chris added. The lights flickered.

"What was that?" Anya asked.

"I don't know." Chris quickly stepped into the downstairs living room. He glanced out the window. Suddenly, he saw five figures come running from the trees, just before the lights went out completely. The figures continued moving. As they got closer, Chris saw that they were carrying high caliber rifles.

He quickly darted back into the kitchen. Kyle already had his pistol out, it's small light illuminating a small area. Anya had the flashlight under the kitchen sink out.

"What's going on?" Anya asked, more insistently.

"Five maybe more possible gunmen, heading straight for us." Chris announced.

Kyle checked the charge on his pistol's battery, then turned the safety off. Chris reached under the counter, pulling another pair of pistols from under the sink. He handed one to Anya, just as a large explosion blew open the front door.

Chris motioned towards the rear entrance to the house. "Let's get out back and get the generator online. Lights off."

Anya and Kyle turned their flashlights off and followed Chris out the back door of the house and into the back yard. Chris crouched down near the generator. He quickly looked it over using he pistol's flashlight. The generator was sabotaged, it's fuel leaking all over the ground.

Kyle leaned over next to Chris. "I can make a distress call from my fighter. We can have Vasudan commandoes here in minutes."

"Do it." Chris replied. "Head around the side of the house. Outside edge of the forest. Stay out of the open."  
"What about you two?"

"We're heading for our ships on the roof."

"So take off once I get there?"  
"Yes, don't hesitate."

Kyle nodded then headed for the front courtyard. Anya nodded to Chris. Chris lead her along the edge of the house towards a ladder to the roof. They were right next to it when they head a twig snap nearby. They both froze. Chris razed his gun just in time. One of the gunmen was coming around the corner. Chris fired, at the same instant that Anya did. Their shots both connected with his head, blowing him back several feet.

They both quickly began climbing the ladder. Half-way up, they heard Kyle take off. Two rockets streaked from the woods to try and hit him. They both missed. Chris climbed up to the roof and looked around quickly. There was nobody around. He raced for his fighter, Anya raced for hers.

Years of flying took over. He quickly powered up the fighter. His HUD flickered on. He quickly engaged the shield system and began charging the Subach HL-7 cannons on it, the only weapons he had been allowed to keep. He and Anya lifted off quickly.

Rockets streaked from the woods after them, but they were already racing away. Chris engaged his targeting system and spotted Kyle, escorting a Vasudan heavy airspeeder to the house.

The Vasudan heavy airspeeder's shields absorbed the weak rocket fire and landed in the courtyard. Twenty Vasudan soldiers and a pair of Shivans disembarked. The Shivans raced into the woods, leaping from tree to tree. The Vasudans raced into the house.

Chris say several light burst from inside the house, indicating quick fire fights. It only took seconds for the Vasudans to secure the house. The Shivans came out of the woods a few minutes later, with a four prisoners. Chris and Anya landed in the courtyard.

Chris got out of his fighter and found the Vasudan commander near the base of their airspeeder. "What happened?" He asked.

"As you are no doubt aware," the commander began, "they were trying to kill both you and Mrs. Manstein. As of this moment, we believe them to be mercenaries. We have no information as to who they work for or why they attacked you."

"You'll be investigating, right?"

"Of course. Incidents such as these are taken very seriously. We will station a small group of soldier to guard the house and will also install a force field barrier with a gate to prevent any unauthorized access. This will continue for the immediate period of time, until we determine you are in no danger."

"Thank you commander. I would appreciate it if you could keep me informed of any progress."

"You are safe, for now. We recommend that you stay in the house for at least today." The commander walked off.

Kyle walked up. "I'd better get back to the Fire Dawn. I'll get Admiral Loyde to investigate as well, not to mention file an incident report."

"Thanks Kyle."

Anya gave her brother a hug. "Be safe."

"Me?" Kyle gave Anya a questioning, but sarcastic look. "Are you kidding?" Then he raced for his fighter.

"Any ideas?" Anya raised an eyebrow.

"I don't know." Chris replied. "I just don't know."


	2. Blood Thirsty Cult

A/N: Thanks for your review WireSpeed and here is your only warning. This chapter is rather graphic and has some heavy language. Inform me if you think the rating isn't enough.

Amy heard Louis let out a victory yell as he blasted another pirate Hercules fighter. She couldn't help but smile. She was currently engaged with another Hercules of her own, but she wasn't having difficulty. She was simply toying with her target. It was slow, incredibly so.

She fired a pair of shots into it's weakened rear shield, her Kayser blasting straight through. It lacked enough armor plating to withstand another hit. She fired twice more. It's engines exploded, blasting the fighter into pieces.

She pulled up and away, rejoining her squadron of Jade interceptors. The Jade interceptor was a brand new design resembling the Perseus but with two additional engines. It was being field tested by the 77th Swords, her squadron. She still didn't feel like it was her squadron though, it would always be Chris's.

The pirate wing had been eradicated easily. They were flying substandard fighters with outdated equipment. They had been fighting an elite squadron in the GTVSA.

A wing of Nahema bombers passed by, heading home. She resisted the urge to engage. It had been a year since the Shivans had joined the GTVA, but it was still awkward to be fighting with them.

"This is Aries squadron." The lead Nahema transmitted. "Returning to base."

"Good luck Aries." Amy transmitted, just as the Nahema's entered subspace. "Alright Swords, let's head home." She transmitted the coordinates to her squadron, then they headed home as well.

Less than a minute later, they arrived at the Knossos construction sight. It was their base of operations. Hold position near the gate was the GTD Fire Dawn, the GTD Fire Dance, and the GTD Fire Dusk. The SD Malak, a Ravana class destroyer, patrolled the entrance vectors for the area.

She dialed down her sensor range to reduce the number of sensor contacts on her sensor board. The Knossos construction sight employed thousands of contractors and millions of workers, all working in small construction vessels. Even more robots aided in the construction process.

Her job was relatively simple. Enjoy the peace of an easy assignment and watch the construction of the largest construction project ever. The Shivans had cut the estimated construction time in half and were providing an immense amount of labor for the project.

She flew into the launch bay of the GTD Fire Dawn, setting down gently. She pulled her helmet off and set it on the console in front of her. She then shook her head, letting her golden brown hair fall gently to her shoulder. She popped her canopy and climbed out.

Mechanics and technicians swarmed her fighter. She ignored them, getting swept into a embrace by Louis. She returned it. "Three kills?" She asked.

"Four actually." He replied, a smug grin on his face. "You?"

"Just one, but I played with him for a while."

He lead her out of the hanger, towards the squadron briefing room. "Have you talked to Chris and Anya yet."

"Yeah. I did as soon as Kyle got back with the news. They said dinner was still on."

"That's great, but it makes you wonder. Who'd have a grudge against Chris and Anya, they're heroes."

"Heroes make great targets for terrorists, but with the local militia guarding them, they'll be fine." They sat down in the briefing room. Amy noticed the files on each of their desks. The files were marked 'DO NOT OPEN' in big red letters.

The rest of the squadron slowly filed in, still feeling joyous from their recent victory. Jack and Sydney joined Amy and Louis in their row of desks. Kira Hanson, the recently chosen leader of Beta wing, an imposing woman with short red-brown hair, sat down behind Amy. Emily Hanestock, Kira's wingman and best friend was a fail looking girl with long blond hair that fell below her shoulders. Kyle Mitchell and his wingman, Mike Cunningham finished the row. Mike was a heavy set pilot, but was made primarily of muscle.

Complementing Gamma wing were Hans Ferganan, Kayle Yersban, Marissa Gilbertson, and Ben Able. Hans was a dark man, with two almost yellow eyes. He didn't talk much and it was rumored that he was a former NTF traitor. They were rumors, nothing more. Kayle was similar, with jet black hair and almost black eyes. She was calm, quiet, and lethally proficient in her job. Marissa was a cheery person, with navy blue hair, dark blue eyes, and a matching flight suit. Ben was a straight up GTVSA recruit, fresh out of the GTVSA. His hair was military regulations short and he fit the description of the ideal candidate for an elite squadron.

Admiral Sean Loyde entered the room quietly and assumed a position at the head of the room. He clasped his hands behind his back before speaking. "First off, I want to say you twelve did a great job out there. That mission was perfect and there are absolutely no complaints I can give."  
He paused. "The second part of this is a bit more serious. You can open the files on your desk now." He waited as they began to open their respective files. "In them is an information packet on the NTF. As of yesterday, a rogue group of GTA ships, under the command of an Admiral Jack Nault, seized control of the Regulus system. We're not sure about the details yet, but it's clear he has control of both jump nodes out of Regulus."

He used a small keypad to call up the first briefing slide. "We're moving the Terran 5th Fleet and the Vasudan 1st Fleet into Polaris. The Shivan 2nd and 3rd fleet will be stationed in Sirius. The Terran 6th Fleet, that's us, will be held in reserve. We don't know the size of Admiral Nault's fleet, but it appears to be smaller than a standard battle group. As of this moment our orders will remain the same, defend the Knossos subspace portal here in Delta Serpentis."

"Are those fleets going to enter the system?" Emily asked.

"No, not yet anyway. SOC wants a more detailed picture. To that end, I'd guess they're doing a number of covert operations in that system. The GTVSA's only goal right now, is to keep them from escaping. We want the advantage when we enter the system."

Admiral Sean Loyde shifted, then called up the next slide. "Nault made a general broadcast after he secured the system, listen."

He stepped aside and hit another button on the keypad. Admiral Nault's voice suddenly boomed over the speakers, like a god to his worshipers. "Terrans, for years you've co inhabited your worlds with aliens, first Vasudans and now the Shivans themselves. The Shivans!" Nault spat the words. "They destroyed countless of our worlds in their blind crusade. They killed millions of human lives. They are unpure!" Nault was yelling. "From this day forward, let no human ever trust another alien. From this day forward, let no human ever consort with alien powers. From this day forward, let us start the purge which will make the galaxy pure once more. From this throne, Emperor Jack Nault watches over you. Go forth, and purify the galaxy."

"He's a fucking psycho!" Louis yelled.

"Fucking psycho or not. He's real." Admiral Sean Loyde flipped to the next slide. "He's using a sort of religious crusade ideal to gather followers, and you'd be amazed as to how many he's gathered. They are also willing to go to great lengths. We got this video from the Polaris news service, which has, or had, a branch in Regulus. I'll warn you, this video is not pretty." He hit a button and the video played.

_A lone Vasudan was cornered by a group of humans. The humans carried shotguns, pistols, knives and any assortment of weapons. The Vasudan was scarred, terrified. He warbled something that wasn't translated. Then the humans grabbed him, dragging him back down the street, towards a growing pit. The Vasudan struggled, trying to escape, but only had his hand cut off in reply. Blood spilled unchecked from the wound._

Emily and Marissa got up, leaving the room, both looking pale.

_The Vasudan was tossed into the pit, where hundreds of his fellow Vasudans were also crammed. Humans stood guard around the perimeter, sporting automatic weapons, high powered shotguns, and the works. A large basin around the pit began filling with liquid metal, molten liquid metal. The crowds surrounding the pit cheered._

_A single man in blood stained white robes walked to a raised platform just beyond the pit._

_"The impure shall be purged and by the light of the fire, the chosen shall be lifted up and exalted in heaven."_

_The crowds cheered again._

_"From this hallow ground, a new begging shall be forged. A vision of a celestial temple in the sky. A fountain of youth, a fountain of life for all humanity."_

_The crowds cheered and began to chant. "Death to the impure, death to the impure."_

_The basin had a retaining wall on one side. The molten metal began to overflow, and there was only one place it could, into the pit. The Vasudans stepped away from the edge, crowding in the center. A quiet chant began to form among them. They knew their fate. They knew they couldn't escape it. All that awaited them was death._

_The crowds chanting increased as muffled cries began to escape the pit. The motel metal slowing filled up the pit. It only stopped, when the only trace of the massacre was a pool of molten metal. The crowds cheered and continued to chant._

_"Know that you are the chosen, and that your acts bring us closer to blessed salvation."_

Admiral Sean Loyde turned it off.

"Fucking bastards." Louis said, unable to hide the disgust in his voice.

"They just..." Kayle couldn't find the words.

"This is a horrible atrocity." Admiral Sean Loyde said. "And that doesn't even begin to describe it, but you saw the fervor, people believe it. They honestly think they're going to some blessed afterlife for doing this. That wasn't the only one either. Initial reports from SOC indicate that there are hundreds of these pits on the various planets in the Regulus system. Now... go try and get some rest. I felt that you deserved to know about what was happening."

Amy stood to leave. She couldn't clear her head. The images would continue to play for some time. No one was going to get any sleep that night.


	3. Destruction

A/N: Note that this chapter does contain the preview in it. The preview has been changed to stay consistent with story. Thanks for the understanding. Cpt. Ritter

A/N: Thanks Wirespeed, nodikus, and Captain of the GTVA for your reviews. Hope you enjoy the next chapter.

Amy and Louis flew side by side, down into the atmosphere of Delta Serpentis IV. Amy spotted Chris' house easily. It was surrounded by a shield, with the only checkpoint being guarded by Vasudan soldiers. She set her fighter down just outside the shield.

Chris and Anya were waiving. Amy released the canopy on her fighter and climbed out, leaving her helmet in the cockpit. She joined Louis as they walked over towards Chris and Anya. The four briefly exchanged hugs and hand shakes.

"Come on." Chris said. "Let's head inside." He led them through the checkpoint and into the house. He stopped in the living room. "How have you two been?"

"We've been doing great." Louis said. "As long as your talking about the two of us, not what's been going on in the fleet."  
"Are you talking about the rebellion in Regulus?" Anya asked.

"It's not just a rebellion." Amy said. "It's a religious purge of the impure."

"That sound bad just from that." Chris said.

"We saw some video clip from the Polaris News Service. They basically buried the Vasudans in liquid metal."

"Oh god." Anya said, her hand going instinctively to her heart.

"It gets worse." Louis said. "SOC is trying to get intel, so the fleets aren't going in, not yet anyway."

"Typical GTVSA." Chris said. "Either of you want something to drink."  
"Got any good wine?" Louis asked, Amy just nodded.

"Last vintage bottle out of France, before Earth was sealed off. Been saving it for a rainy day." As if on cue, rain began to fall outside. Chris went to get the wine.

"Anya, I heard your parents paid you a visit." Amy said.

"Yeah." Anya replied hesitantly.

"If you don't want to talk about it, just say so."

"No, it's just something that stings. I saw the hate in their eyes. They hate me, they hate my brother."

"Who by the way, just made ace last week." Louis added.

"I got the triple ace for times over." Anya replied. "It's great to know he's doing so well."

"You had to do it with an ancient Ulysses fighter and outdated weapons. I think he's still got a long way to go."

"How are those Jade interceptors treating you?" Chris asked, handing a glass to each of them and pouring red wine into them.

"Like a beauty." Louis said. "They're fast as hell, pack a punch, and have a spacious cockpit."  
"Spacious?" Chris laughed. "I remember when we had to cram ourselves in cockpits. Am I really that old?"  
"Nah." Amy said. "We just flew the outdated contraptions that made it look like we were twenty years or more in the past." The whole group laughed.

Chris took a sip from his wine. "Guess I never thought of it that way."

"Either way, we're still old."

Amy woke with a scream. She was covered in sweat and her covers were tangled all around her. She took several deep breaths, trying to calm herself. Failing that, she got up and walked to the woman's bathroom. She turned on the water, cupped a large amount of it in her hands, and splashed it against her face.

The water was cold, easily allowing her to cool down using it. Nothing however, could stop her heart from racing. Sure, she'd seen acts of senseless violence before, but nothing like that, nothing so gruesome. She walked back to her bed, in her own small cabin.

She quickly changed into a fresh pair of pants and a tee shirt. She then sat on her bed, trying to calm down. A knock on the door signaled Louis' arrival. She stood up and opened it.

"You alright?" He asked, his tone serious.

"Yeah." She replied, slipping in his embrace. "I can't get it out of my head."

"Want to join us."

"What?"  
"Jack, Sydney, and I have been playing cards for the last hour. We can't sleep either."

"Sure." She reached up and kissed Louis. "Thanks for being here."

"What are friends for, besides kinky... well, you know?"

Amy laughed. "Yeah, you know."

The rest of the night was quiet, with more and more members of the squadron joining the card game in the lobby area near their quarters. This was what made the Swords who they were. The only exception was Ben, who staunchly objected to the idea.

"Your assignment for today is simple." Admiral Sean Loyde said. "Alpha wing will be on the first patrol, Beta and Gamma are on standby."

"Don't tell me." Louis said. "Four hour patrol."

"One Louis. We're not back in Alpha Centauri. We're obviously not expecting anything out of the ordinary, but we have to be on our guard."

"Any news about Regulus?" Amy asked.

"More of the same. Luckily, they've run out of Vasudans to kill. Several transports escaped the system, escorted by a group of Shivan fighters and a Lucifer Destroyer."

"So... no more Vasudans or Shivans are in the system?" Jack asked.

"That's correct Jack. The Shivans have deployed to more battle groups, as have we. We're stretched pretty thin right now, but hopefully, this is the only problem we'll have for a while. Now get down to the flight deck, your Jade Interceptors are waiting."

The swords filed out.

Amy shot out of the newly installed side launch tubes on the Fire Dawn. She was quickly joined by Louis, Jack, and Sydney. The four of them formed a diamond formation and began their slow patrol.

While Louis and Jack were arguing about nothing, Amy took to admiring the sights of the massive portal. It was huge. She weaved her squadron between the various construction ships. The Knossos was built from a combination of Terran, Vasudan, and now Shivan parts.

The outer hulls were silver, highlighted by the bright sun of Delta Serpentis. Deep lines, massive power cables, pulsed red. The Shivans had solved the problem of powering an object so massive that it dwarfed the Colossus in power requirements.

Two Shivan Azrael transports were currently docked with one of the Terran mobile construction camps. They were transferring basic building supplies. Amy pulled her group back so that they were in no danger of collision.

"I still flinch when I see Shivan ships." Sydney said.

"We all do." Amy replied.

"I don't!" Louis boasted.

"That's because you never flinched before!" Jack replied. "You stupidly found the Shivans funny."

Amy resisted the urge to snap back. The Shivans had killed her brother. It was something she still hadn't forgiven them for. Her brother had been so young, so hopelessly arrogant and proud. She wished she had come out of her shell sooner. He had always been there for her.

She turned her group around, heading for their second way point, back at the Fire Dance. The three majestic destroyers were arranged in a line, their support fleet of four Aeolus, four Deimos, and one Saphah frigate, the Stalwart, surrounding them. She was proud, proud to be a member of the fleet that had received the heroes of the GTVA award.

Her sensors pinged as two more transports entered the area. She quickly targeted them, two Stasis freighters. She glanced down at the cargo, her sensors read as unknown. "Fire Dawn." She said into her radio. "Are you reading two Stasis freighters that aren't transmitting a cargo manifest."

"Yeah Amy." Admiral Sean Loyde replied. "Go scan them, we're instructing them to stand down for inspection."

"Roger." Amy led her wing closer to the freighters. "Jack, inspect the second vessel. I've got the first... HOLY CRAP!" She yelled the last to words as flak guns opened fire on her.

"Not fair!" Louis added. "Stasis freighters aren't supposed to have flak guns."

"Fire Dawn, a little help here."

"This is the Stalwart," the Stalwart's commander began, "we're moving to engage... stand clear." The Stalwart fired it primary beams, cutting each transport in two neat chunks. "Threats have been neutralized."

Suddenly, a massive Typhon destroyer exited subspace, right on top of them. "This is the Hammer of Light." It transmitted. "We preach your doom."

"What the hell?" Louis asked.

Just as suddenly, explosions began to wrack through the Knossos construction yard. The entire yard was soon in flames. Explosions and shock waves forced Amy to take her wing away. The Typhon entered subspace during the confusion.

"What the hell is going on?" Amy asked the Fire Dawn.

"We'd love to know Amy." Sean Loyde replied. "For now, we're deploying the rest of your wing and we're contacting GTVSA command. We're in trouble."

"That's putting it mildly." Sydney said.

"I think it's time to call Chris and Anya back into service." Jack added.

"We're going to need them."

_Definitely._ Amy thought to herself. _We're definitely going to need Chris and Anya, Gordon and Franz, and RaNah and Nick._


	4. Sight For Sore Eyes

_A/N: Apologies for the delay... sometimes you need to kick an author to get him writing. So how's this for a next chapter._

A lone Argo civilian issue transport slowly lifted off from the surface of Delta Serpentis IV. It climbed high into the sky, then broke atmosphere, heading for the GTVSA station in orbit. The station was an aging Acadia installation... as were many of the stations in former GTA space. They served their purposes and left plenty of room for a repair dock.

Chris waited near the airlock, his jumpsuit an unremarkable site. Anya was dressed likewise and at his side. No one noticed the two war heroes... they all just went about their business. Chris glanced down at Anya. "You know we don't have to do this." He said quietly.

"Yes we do." She replied, referring to their decision to rejoin the Fire Dawn. It had been something Admiral Sean Loyde had told them they could do at any time. "And you know it. We've had our peace... but if we don't help stop this... then more of those kids are gonna get killed. My brother included."

"If he's half the hot-shot behind the stick as you are... he'll hold his own."

"You saw the news. The Knossos construction yard is in flames... and I'm sure Sean's taking a lot of heat from GTVSA command about it."

The ship docked with a loud thump... the airlock opened with a hiss, revealing the bustling interior of the station. Chris nodded. "I'm sure he is. So let's get transport to there."

Chris and Anya entered the station, heading along the main road till they found a lift. Chris sighed. "Well... to get transport to the Fire Dawn we're gonna need the station commander's approval."

"Its all the security." Anya said, reaching beyond Chris to hit the button for the station commander's office. "Shouldn't be too hard."

The elevator shot up to the top level.

XXX

Two wings of Sekhmet bombers floating silently above a Sobek corvette. In the distance... the station of Delta Serpentis IV loomed. It was a civilian station, even though its primary defense was a squadron of Herc II fighters.

Two wings of Horus interceptors joined them, with a pair of Isis transports. The transports slowed down, waiting and watching. The defense squadron patrolled in groups of four and occasionally left the station completely unguarded during a transition. This was all the Horus interceptors needed.

As the Herc's engaged their docking maneuvers with the station, the Horus interceptors powered up and raced towards the station. The bombers and transports were next. The Sobek corvette opened fire, both its forward beams impacting the station's long range comm unit. Battle had been joined.

XXX

The elevator shook and Chris immediately knew it wasn't a problem with the equipment. The doors opened to the security station just in front of the commander's office. The guard was no where to be seen, so Chris knocked on the door. When nobody answered he tried his hand at the key panel. It asked for an access code, so he gave his.

Surprisingly enough... the door opened, recognizing him as Commander Chris Manstein. Chris shrugged, then walked in. The station commander was busy at his comm post, yelling orders. Chris could only guess trouble.

"What are you doing..." A guard asked... then the guard's eyes widened. "Command Manstein... sir!" The guard quickly saluted.

"What's going on?" Anya asked.

"HOL ships are attacking the station... and our pilots aren't trained for this."

"Tell them to expect us." Chris said. "Anya and I will lead them."

The guard look at them. "I'll tell them... but aren't you two retired."

"Apparently not anymore." Chris replied.

XXX

Sean Loyde looked down at his wife as he crawled out of their shared quarters on the Fire Dawn. Of course they also had quarters on the Fire Dance, but for right now they were both here. He glanced at the clock. According to Galactic Terran Standard Time, it was 2:00AM in the morning.

Then why was he up? Something didn't feel right.

"What is it?" Kristine asked.

Sean activated the intercom. "Bridge... is there anything usual happening?"

"We haven't noticed any activity." The officer on the other end replied.

"Do a detailed scan... I've got a bad feeling about this."

There was a pause. "Sir... we've got readings of weapons fire around the civilian station orbiting Delta Serpentis IV."

"Set course immediately and scramble the alert fighters." Sean replied, grabbing his jacket. "Duty calls." He said to Kristine.

Kristine slipped into her jumpsuit. "I'm going too."

"Of course."

XXX

The fighter deck was a mess, with crews unprepared trying to load up Herc II's that hadn't ever seen this kind of action. The tech crews were bumping into each other... having trouble getting to the right ships. On top of that... there was no easy loading system. Each weapon had to be manually loaded.

Chris swore as he walked onto the deck. Just about the same time a tech noticed them. "You the ones the commander sent down?"

"Yes." Chris replied. "We need gear and fighters."

"You'll find flight helmets inside the fighters... same with the oxygen gear. The Herc's have their own life support systems so you could fly even if you didn't have them. Over there, in the corner... we've just got the Subach's loaded into them... missiles are..." The tech looked over his shoulder. "If you two really are Chris and Anya Manstein... you'd better forget about the missiles and just launch."

Chris nodded. "Just like old times."

"We had tempests back then." Anya said as she jogged next to Chris.

They reached their fighters and climbed in. True to the tech's word, flight helmets and oxygen gear were in the seat. Chris strapped the helmet down then attached the oxygen mask and closed the canopy.

"This is Beta 3... I'm not launching by myself." The voice was over the comm system.

"Shut up." Chris replied. "Swords Alpha 1 here, launching!"

"Swords Alpha 2, I'm right besides you." Anya replied over the comm.

Chris lifted the Herc II off the hanger floor, and shot out into space. Immediately he had to dodge a pair of Harpoon missiles. He deployed a pair of countermeasures and spoofed them. He toggled the second gun bank, the quad bank and selected the nearest Horus interceptor. It raced pass him, its shots impacting his rear shields.

He equalized them, and returned fire. His shots impacted its vulnerable underside, ripping through the weak shields and punching through the hull. It spun off and exploded.

"It has been too long!" Anya yelled over the radio.

"Stay close." Chris replied.

"On your wing."

"All fighters." The station commander began. "We have two hostile transports headed for our docking bays. Intercept them."

Chris quickly cycled through the available targets while continuing his evasive dance. Luckily.. the Horus interceptors were busy shooting sentry guns. He located the first transport and sent the targeting data to Anya.

"I've got number 2." She said.

"Number 1." Chris replaced words with actions, boosting power to his engines and redlining his afterburners. The transports were headed to the main docking bays. They were probably carrying some kind of troops. They probably intended to take hostages.

Chris had long ago replaced his normal perceptions of friend and foe. He'd fought the Shivans, now they were allies. He'd fought pirate Vasudans, even though since his training he'd been taught that Vasudan vessels were friends.

He lined up with the Vasudan transport and held down his primary trigger. Red-blue bolts shot from his gun banks, impacting the Isis transport and blowing off its top gun bank. It was an old habit, one Chris was sure he'd never forget it. He then blew off one of its engines. The transport spun out of control. Chris continued firing until it exploded.

"Transport 1 destroyed." Chris said into the open channel.

"Transport 2 is scrap." Anya said only a second later.

"I don't know who you two are but our situation just improved drastically." The station commander said. "But now the Sekhmet bombers are headed right for us, we're reading aspect targeting locks on the station."

"We're moving to intercept." Chris said, finding the bombers on his targeting computer.

"We've flown those things before." Anya said. "We can't match them for speed... or firepower."

"Skill is a whole different story."

"Wish Louis was here."

Suddenly, the GTD Fire Dawn came out of subspace just above the station. It continued to use its forward momentum to shoot towards the Sobek corvette.

"This is Admiral Sean Loyde of the GTD Fire Dawn. All hostile ships stand down immediately or we will open fire." Chris couldn't have smiled bigger at Sean's voice.

The Sobek corvettes response was brief and cryptic. "As you wish." Then it opened fire. Its beam cannon shots went wide.

Chris smiled again, the beam inhibitors were closely guarded secrets and the Firestorm Battalion was one of the few units to have them. Then he noticed the fighters spilling from the Fire Dawn's hanger.

"77th Swords on station, targeting bombers." Amy said.

Chris laughed. "Welcome to the party Amy."

"Chris?" Louis yelled. "Hot damn buddy what are you doing in those cheap Herc II's."

"I'll explain later... if you two wouldn't mind."

The Swords raced towards the bomber formation at full speed, their Jade Interceptors flying faster than even the Horus interceptors. Seconds later, the bombers were all destroyed... as was the Sobek corvette from the Fire Dawn's main beam cannons.

The Horus fighters bailed, entering subspace and abandoning their attack on the station fighters. Chris activated his comm unit. "So this is what you guys have been up to?"

Four Jade Interceptors formed up near the two slow Herc's matching their speed. Chris glanced over and saw Louis waving from his cockpit. "Nice to see you Louis."

"Speed doesn't kill." Sydney said. "But damn its addicting."

"We'll escort you to the Fire Dawn... and then we'll send those ships back over to the station."

"We'll see you on the hanger floor."

XXX

Compared to the chaotic mess from the station's hanger bay, setting down in the center of the Fire Dawn's hanger was a vacation. Fighters were lining the racks, techs were working efficiently on all the ships.

Chris deactivated the ship's systems and set all the borrowed gear down. He climbed out, climbing down the ladder set on the side of the ship by the tech. He met Anya at the base of the ladder to her fighter.

"Talk about an adrenaline rush." She said. "Goes in my veins."

"Definitely."

"We'd better go find the Admiral..." Chris said, turning to find Sean already jogging towards them.

"You two are always there to save the day." Sean shook both of their hands. "If you two hadn't dealt with those transports, we'd have a much more severe situation on our hands."

"Well... we happened to be on the station." Anya said lightly.

"If you two don't mind... I'd like to brief you two with the Swords. We've got a mission... and I think we'll need your help on it."

"Tell us more." Chris said. "That's why we're here."

"By the way." Sean smiled. "I never did bother to file your official resignation. As far as the GTVSA is concerned.. you're both still on extended leave. Congratulations Commodore."

"I don't want a desk job." Chris replied.

"Who said anything about a desk job." Sean replied. "We need you in a fighter."


	5. Assault Through The Field

Chris felt oddly at home sitting in the briefing room of the Fire Dawn. It hadn't even been home for that long when he'd been on his final missions for the GTVA, yet somehow, it felt more like home than even his real home had ever been.

The real Swords were sitting in their assigned rows, by wings. Chris may have felt at home, but he still felt out of place. His place was where Amy was now sitting, with Anya were Louis was. He forced himself to get rid of that. The Swords were hers now, he was back by coincidence.

Sean clicked the first slide of the briefing on. It displayed an asteroid base, the most common mercenary outpost in the galaxy. "This installation was long ago discovered, and classified as abandoned, but according to intelligence, not only is it active, but the Hammer Of Light has been using it as a base."

He advanced the slide, it was now zoomed out to view the asteroid belt and the fighter and bomber wings assigned. "We're going to attempt this operation in two phases. Phase one, involves getting a wing of fighters close enough so that we can provide fire support with the Malak and the Fire Dawn. Getting those fighters there however, will be tricky."

He advanced the slide again. It zoomed in on a portion of the asteroid belt. "I had two Pegasus stealth fighters investigate the field and they reported several squadrons of HOL fighters patrolling the belt. They weren't able to get close enough, but my guess is that the Hammer of Light is ready to evacuate before we can get to them."

He advanced the slide again, this time showing a small asteroid and a wing of Jade Interceptors. "This will be Alpha wing, comprised of Amy, Louis, Jack, and Sydney. You have the hardest job by far. We'll insert you well beyond the HOL patrols and near this asteroid line. Its a dense pocket of asteroids that are generating a ton of EM interference. If you four can fly down this line, it'll take you straight up to the base without being detected."

He turned to face Amy. "Your wing will be experiencing HUD malfunctions, but our techs are modifying your fighters to be EM shielded, it'll slow you down a bit, but it'll prevent you from having any system failures, or at least thats what the geeks tell me. Your communications will be limited to short-range line of sight comms. We won't be able to give you any intel and sensors will be pretty much useless."

He paused, stepping down from the platform. "Once you get close, you will have to tag the installation itself with a specially modified tag missile. Its a derivation of the TAG-A design. It won't light the station up, but will instead send a burst transmission giving us targeting date, you should be able to do this from the edge of the field without being detected."

He turned back to the screen and advanced the slide, showing now a zoomed up view of the base. "We'll have two Deimos class corvette drop in, here and here." He pointed out the two locations. "You'll need to stay near them to stay out of our line of fire, they'll also help you clear out the fighter swarm. Beta wing will fly Hydra bombers, Gamma will fly Ares fighters. Chris, Anya, you two will be in Ares fighters and attached to Gamma wing. Beta wing will help eliminate and cruisers and disable any transports in the area. Gamma wing will provide cover with Alpha. Any questions?"

There were none, silence filled the briefing room.

"Gear up and get down to the flight deck, Alpha wing launches immediately."

XXX

Amy gently tugged at her flight stick, adjusting her course by the slightest of margins. The asteroid field loomed ahead, and she could see the dense portion of the field that she had to get in with her naked eye. It was all up to her wing to do this part of the mission.

"Everyone ready?" She asked.

"As ready as I'm gonna be." Sydney replied.

"Shake rattle and roll." Louis howled with excitement.

"We'll follow your lead Amy." Jack said last.

Amy took a deep breath and accelerated, coming up to two-thirds throttle. She didn't dare take the speed any faster. Chances were they were all going to take a beating, even with the shields. Her sensors started to break up the second she entered the field.

Switching from the sensors to manual navigation, she lit up her first way point and started towards it, dodging left and right to avoid small asteroids. Her fighter rattled as a constant spray of micrometeorites impacted her shield continually. She diverted some power from her engines to her shields.

She just had to trust her wing to stay with her, they'd been through worse, but they couldn't fire on the asteroids, the Kayser fire would alert the Hammer of Light. All of her wingman lights were flashing, but none of them were turning red, so there was no danger, it just showed they were being pelted with debris.

All around her HUD, asteroids were painted in white brackets, indicating possible collision hazards, but they changed quickly due to the small size of her fighter. Still, if there ever was a fighter designed to handle this, the Jade interceptor was it. Its hull was tough enough to withstand the continual pounding and its shields more than made up for any weakness there. Its maneuverability and speed were unparalleled, even by the aging Horus interceptor the Vasudans used.

For the longest time the Horus had been the fastest interceptor in both the Terran, Vasudan, and even the Shivan fleets, though the Manticore came a close second, followed by the now retired Valkyrie. Of course survivability had been a complete reversal.

Amy shifted to her second way point, the field was rapidly becoming thicker and thicker. All of her shield indicators flashed continually as small asteroids she couldn't dodge hit her. The number of asteroids that were a threat though increased substantially. She found herself constantly shifting course, only praying her wingmates kept up with her.

All around her asteroids impacted one another with lethal precision, nearly sandwiching her several times. She glanced down at her hull integrity display, it showed 80, not bad, considering the amount of physical impacts on her ship and the strain the shields were already going through.

The third way point was the final one. As she banked and turned she could see were the field dissipated and the Hammer of Light station became visible. A quick glance to either side showed her the HOL fighter wings patrolling the asteroids. She hoped the constant spray of rocks would keep her and her wing hidden.

She switched to her temporary third missile bank, it contained a single missile, all she need to finish her mission. She brought up her sensor and targeting systems again as she reached the edge of the field. She quickly calibrated her missile with date streaming from her sensors.

"Fire the damn missile!" Louis said over the tight band line of sight comm equipment in her cockpit.

Amy pressed her secondary trigger on top of the flight stick and the missile launched free of its housing, racing straight for the target. In less than a second, it hit and her sensors lit up with contacts from the area, data from the missile directly.

Two large subspace apertures opened and the two Deimos corvettes dropped out of subspace, opening fire on the installation. Targeting the docking rings and fighter bays. Chunks of the base started falling off into space.

More subspace apertures opened, these small and the rest of Amy's squadron dropped out of subspace. Four Hydra bombers and six Ares fighters. She waited, knowing her wing's best position would be behind the Hammer of Light fighters once they came racing to save their base.

"Somethings wrong." Sydney said. "Where is the Typhon?"

"Forget it for now." Louis yelled. "HOL fighters coming out of the field."

"You know the drill." Amy said. "Lets go." She shot out of the field, with Louis and her wing tucked in behind her. "Jack, Sydney, break and rip those Serapis fighters apart. Louis and I will get the Horus interceptors."

"Hulls weaker than a dragon." Louis said with a laugh.

Amy redirected the extra power from her shield into her engines and used her massive afterburners to catch up with the Horus interceptors. She targeted the lead fighter, and opened fire. Her Kayser banks spewed destruction, ripping it apart in seconds.

Another explosions indicated a kill from Louis, but the surprise was gone, leaving them with a full squadron minus two fighters of Horus interceptors still fighting. Amy broke and dropped a pair of countermeasures to break the missile locks on her, while slowly moving the fight towards the nearest Deimos corvette.

It didn't take long before it opened fire, destroying two of them outright. Amy turned back, using her Tempest dumb fires to hit one of them in passing, Louis finished it off. The anit-fighter beams of the Deimos didn't stop, taking another two fighters. Amy caught up with one of the retreating fighters and blew it to pieces. In a few seconds, the whole squadron was gone.

"That was fun, want to do it again?" Louis laughed over the comm.

"This is the New Jersey." One of the Deimos corvettes' commander said. "We're getting strange readings from this asteroid base... its almost as if..."

He never had a chance to finish his sentence as a large chunk of the asteroid broke free, exposing a massive beam cannon assembly, aimed right at the corvette. It fired immediately, dividing the corvette into two pieces. Beta wing swarmed on the target, emptying their Cyclops torpedo banks into it. The cannon showed signs of damage, but not enough.

"This is the William." The other commander said. "We're moving to avoid getting caught by that beam and we need it eliminated, sending targeting info Fire Dawn!" The was a hint of panic in the commander's voice.

Twin green beams slammed into the base from one direction, twin red beams hit it from the other. Larger chunks of the station began breaking apart revealing more and more of the insides. Amy looked down at her sensor board in shock as it became visible. "Its the Typhon!" Amy shrieked. "Its inside a shell, just like the Iceni!

"Beta wing... take out those engines!" Sean yelled over the open comm.

"We'll try." Kira, Beta-1, replied. "But we used most of our bombs on that cannon."

"What the hell have they done to it!" Louis yelled. "That isn't your normal out of date Typhon."

"We've got more incoming fighters." Chris said. "Two squadrons it looks like, heavy assault!"

Amy looked away from the Typhon and its now exposed fighters bays. She raced down near them, just as the Typhon fired again, this time catching the William in a cross fire from two cannons. "The William's down!" She said as she engaged the fighters now engaged with Gamma wing.

Her wing made a slashing attack, weakening shields and destroying two fighters outright with concentrated fire in passing. Tornado missiles poured out of the six Ares fighters in the center, ripping the HOL fighters apart.

She turned and this time joined the fight, getting behind one of them and blow it apart with a concentrated burst. He rammed her afterburners as a harpoon locked onto her and nearly hit her. Nearly, at full afterburner she could outrun them, which was still hard to get used to.

Another salvo from the Fire Dawn and the Malak burned away the last of the Typhon's protective canopy. Amy got a good look at it. It resembled the standard Typhon but it certainly had many modifications. Its normally useless and overexposed fighter bays were now lined with beam cannons, what looked like really heavy beam cannons.

She looked down at its hull integrity, her sensors couldn't tell, the reading kept changing from the mass and volume change of the target. If she wasn't so close to it, it might have fooled her as being a normal Typhon, up close was a whole different story.

"We can't seem to dent these engines!" Kira yelled. "Its like all our shot are bouncing off some time of armor or shield."

"The destroy will soon enter subspace, all fighters vacate the immediate area." The Shivan commander of the Malak said, just as it did enter subspace, vanishing and leaving only a debris cloud where it had been.

"All fighters return to base." Sean said. "I'd better sound an alert."

Amy nodded, something was definitely wrong with that destroyer.


End file.
